Red Blush
by someonestolemyshoes49
Summary: Just my quick take on what Lisbon did with the pony Jane got her for her birthday. Please, read and review. Jane/Lisbon if you squint. I refuse to use the term 'Jisbon' seriously, its a poorly chosen name. Think it over, it'll COME to you. Please, R&R.


**A/N: Hey ho, my lovely readers! I'm excited, posting two fics in one day is a big thing for me. I'm so pleased at the responses I'm getting, I really am. **

**So, as the summary suggests, this fic is just my interpretation of what Lisbon did with that beautiful pony Jane bought her for her birthday. It's also the first time I've brought in any of the other characters, even if it is brief. **

**In addition, this fic is set sometime after 'A Lesson in Body Language', so it'd be nice to read that first, as there is a subtle link. It's not a life or death situation, though, so if the other fic doesn't hold your interest, don't worry about it and just read this one. **

**Disclaimer; Again, I don't own The Mentalist. Oh, how I wish I did. **

**Apologies for any spelling and/or grammar mistakes, I'm pretty darn tired. **

"Have any of you seen Lisbon?" Jane asked as he entered the bullpen, closed case pizza in hand. He dropped his prize on Cho's desk.

"She left about an hour ago." Rigsby supplied, ending his participation in the conversation by shoving an oversized cut of grease and cheese between his teeth. Cho grumbled something about pineapple and helped himself to a side salad.

"Odd."

"She said she had an errand to run." Van Pelt added from behind him, inching past to place her own slice of pizza onto a plate and collect a napkin.

"Is she coming back?"

"I imagined so, but I thought she would have been back by now."

Jane nodded at Van Pelts reply and picked up the smallest triangle of the fatty concoction he could find. Something nagged at the back of his mind, and he took a seat a little away from the remainder of the group to allow the bud of an idea to blossom in its own time.

Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt enjoyed animated conversation for another fifteen minutes or so, uninterrupted, until Jane hopped from his chair and collected his jacket, sliding it up his arms and heading for the elevator.

"Where's he going?" Cho asked the other agents. He shook his head at the answering shrugs he recieved from his companions.

Jane only smiled.

XxX

Twenty minutes down the road, Jane pulled up into the drive of a small farmhouse and stable. The track bent up a sharp incline, one Jane's old car struggled to climb, though that didn't deter the consultant. He travelled the remaining distance at a slower pace, but finally shifted into park and clambered out of the vehicle some distance behind an old horse trailer.

To his right, the farmhouse clung to the top of the hillside, back facing down to the main road. To his left, a stable complete with ten or twelve separate stalls opened out to the courtyard he stood in.

The house belonged to an old rancher and his wife, friends of the members of the Serious Crimes Unit. Jane, Lisbon and the team had met the couple several years back while working a case; the body of a small boy found on their land. Thankfully, the old couple were uninvolved. Jane had noted that, as of late, Lisbon had been in almost constant contact with the rancher's wife. The observation had borne a theory in his head; one that was about to be proven.

As he reached the building, a pair of voices drifted from the open front door.

"Hello!" Jane called through the opening.

"Oh no." A muffled voice replied inside.

"Oh! Mr Jane, come on in." A second, more welcoming voice rang out. Jane complied, and headed down the homely hall way into a small kitchen.

"Evening Sally. Lisbon." Jane said, signature smile in full swing.

"Jane, what the hell are you doing here?" Lisbon asked.

"I was in the neighbourhood." He lied. Sally placed a steaming cup of tea before him on a saucer. He nodded a thank you and took a seat. "Better question is what brings you here?"

"She just popped by to see that beautiful pony of hers." Sally supplied. Lisbon widened her eyes, while Jane's grin grew impossibly bigger. Sally looked between the two, and then clapped her hands to her rosy cheeks. "Oh my," She said, tone laced in sarcasm, "Have I spoken out of turn?"

Jane chuckled at the old ladies antics.

"By the bye, Lisbon, can I see this lovely pony of yours?" Jane lifted his cup to his mouth and sipped the tea. "Mm, perfect, as always."

Sally waved off the compliment.

Jane put the cup and saucer back to the table and stood, stretching his back.

"Come on." He said. He thanked his host and shuffled Lisbon through the door and out into the courtyard. She hollered her own thank you back down the hall way.

"Jane! That was rude." She scalded. Jane made a 'meh' sound and walked ahead.

"So where is he?" He asked.

"Why the interest?"

"Well, I got him for you, I want to see how he's doing."

Lisbon merely grumbled, and reluctantly led Jane around the back of the stables to the edge of a medium sized ménage. Behind the fencing, a chestnut and white pinto Shetland pony trotted backwards and forwards, clearly awaiting the return of its owner. Jane smiled wide at seeing the colt.

"There he is." Lisbon said lamely, gesturing in the pony's general direction. Said Shetland whinnied and trotted to the fence, tossing his head and flicking his tail. Lisbon walked up to the fence line and pulled a Polo from her jacket pocket, holding it flat in her hand for the pony to eat.

"I'm surprised you kept him." Jane said. Lisbon only smiled a little sheepishly. "What did you name him?"

"None of your business."

"Oh, come on." Jane teased. Lisbon blushed and turned away. He changed tact. "What have you two been doing?"

"I was lunging him, he needed some exercise."

"You missed closed case pizza, Lisbon. I'm ashamed of you."

Lisbon turned narrowed eyes on him, and then looked back to the pony nudging her hand.

"We've had a busy week; I haven't had time to see him that much."

Jane conceded that her point was fair, and walked up to scratch the pony's nose.

"He needs bathing." Lisbon said with a blush, looking at the pony's mud-caked socks and fetlocks. Jane chuckled at the look of insecurity on the agents face. A few beats passed where neither said a word, and the only sounds heard were the soft snorts and breaths of the pony, and the distant rumble of traffic down on the main road.

"I better put him out." Lisbon said, lifting a lead rope from the fence and entering the ménage. Jane watched her hook the rope onto the pony's head collar and lead him out into a fenced field, where she released him with a kiss on the nose. He trotted off happily down the field, content that Lisbon would be back to see him another day.

XxX

"Well isn't he adorable." Jane commented once Lisbon closed the door to the tac shed.

"Yes he is, thank you." Lisbon replied. Jane was unsure whether she was thanking him for complementing her pony, or thanking him for buying the damn thing in the first place.

"What's his name?" Jane asked again. Lisbon rolled her eyes. "Come on," He said, "You know you want to tell me."

The coaxing paid off. A little.

"I named him after you." she said, blushing a brilliant red. Jane was, to his own surprise as well as her, taken aback. She named him after _me_, He thought.

"Aw, isn't that sweet." He teased, if only to take away from his own blush. She smacked his arm. "Really," He added, rubbing the abused limb, "I am honoured." Despite the sarcasm oozing from his words, he did mean it. He was honoured that she thought that highly of him, even if she didn't show it day to day.

"Shut up." She mumbled.

"So, what exactly did you call him? Paddy?"

"No."

"Pat?"

"No."

"Patrick?"

"Nope."

"Jane? Not very masculine."

"Look who's talking."

"Boy Wonder?"

"It's sad to know that you think so highly of yourself."

"Well, I'm stumped. Truly." Patrick said, leaning against the side of his car. Lisbon shook her head. "Is it something embarrassing? A nickname you give me in you're head, something you wouldn't want anyone else to relate to me? That's it, isn't it? Oh-ho this is good." Again, Lisbon threw a punch.

"Jackass." She mumbled, blinking rapidly over the words. Jane smirked brilliantly and pointed.

"I've told you before, Lisbon, ass isn't even a bad word."

Lisbon shrugged him off and turned towards the farmhouse.

"I'm gonna talk to Sally a little more, I owe her my livery for the month. I'll see you Monday." She said. Jane nodded and waved to her, climbing into his Citroen.

"See you Monday." He repeated.

As Jane started the engine and shifted into gear, he heard Lisbon call to him one more time;

"Jane?"

"Yeah?" He shouted through the rolled down window. Lisbon's eyes drifted from Jane, to the field beside the house. She waved a hand in the direction of her gaze, towards the grazing Shetland by the fence.

"Trick."

With that, Lisbon turned into the homely farmhouse, closing the door firmly behind her.

And Jane smiled.

**A/N: There we have it, my third Mentalist fic! I have tons of ideas at the moment, and barely any time to write, with exams coming up in the next month, which is why I'm blasting out as many as I can before the hardcore revision kicks in. **

**Please, make my day, drop me a review! And don't forget to check out my other Mentalist fics, that'll add to the day-making. **

**One more thing! For anyone who's appreciative of my writing and would like to really show it, feel free to follow me on twitter, just visit the bottom of my profile page, I'll put my name there. **

**Much love, Someone x**


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